1996–97 Rangers F.C. season

Rangers
1996–97 season
Chairman	David Murray
Manager	Walter Smith
Ground	Ibrox Stadium
Scottish Premier Division	1st (Champions)
Scottish Cup	Quarter-finals
League Cup	Winners
Champions League	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: ; Brian Laudrup (17); All: ; Brian Laudrup (21)
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 season was the 117th season of competitive football by Rangers.

Overview

Rangers played a total of 52 competitive matches during the 1996–97 season. The team finished first in the Scottish Premier Division and won its ninth consecutive league title, equalling the long-standing record of their rivals Celtic

In the cup competitions, the team won the Scottish League Cup beating Heart of Midlothian 4–3 in the final. Rangers were knocked out the Scottish Cup by Celtic at the quarter-final stage, losing 2–0.

The side reached the group stages of the UEFA Champions League this season and were drawn into a group with Grasshopper, Auxerre and Ajax.

Between July and March, manager Walter Smith spent almost £10 million on new signings Jörg Albertz, Joachim Björklund and Sebastián Rozental.

Due to the mounting injuries in the second half of the season, striker Mark Hateley briefly returned to the club from Queens Park Rangers.^[1] Manchester City goalkeeper Andy Dibble joined on a free transfer as cover for the injured Andy Goram.

Transfers

In

Date	Name	From	Fee	Source
28 June 1996	Jörg Albertz	Hamburg	£4,000,000	^[2]
5 July 1996	Joachim Björklund	Vicenza	£2,000,000	^[3]
13 December 1996	Sebastián Rozental	Universidad Catolica	£3,500,000	^[4]
10 March 1997	Andy Dibble	Manchester City	Free	^[5]
14 March 1997	Mark Hateley	Queens Park Rangers	£300,000	^[6]

Out

Date	Name	From	Fee
15 May 1996	Alexei Mikhailichenko	Retired	Free
15 May 1996	Billy Thomson	Dundee	Free
31 May 1996	Colin Scott	Hamilton Academical	Free
31 May 1996	John Morrow	Oldham Athletic	Free
5 February 1997	Neil Murray	FC Sion	£200,000^[7]

Expenditure: £9,800,000
Income: £200,000
Total loss/gain: £9,600,000

Results

All results are written with Rangers' score first.

Scottish Premier Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
10 August 1996	Raith Rovers	H	1–0	46,221	Steven
17 August 1996	Dunfermline Athletic	A	5–2	16,782	McCoist (3, 1 (pen.)), Van Vossen (2)
24 August 1996	Dundee United	H	1–0	48,285	Gascoigne
7 September 1996	Motherwell	A	1–0	12,288	Gough
14 September 1996	Heart of Midlothian	H	3–0	47,240	Durie, Gascoigne, McCoist
21 September 1996	Kilmarnock	A	4–1	14,812	Gascoigne (2, 1 (pen.)), Van Vossen (2)
28 September 1996	Celtic	H	2–0	50,124	Gough, Gascoigne
12 October 1996	Hibernian	A	1–2	12,436	Albertz
19 October 1996	Aberdeen	H	2–2	50,076	Gascoigne, Laudrup (pen.)
26 October 1996	Motherwell	H	5–0	48,160	Gascoigne (3), Laudrup (2)
2 November 1996	Raith Rovers	A	2–2	9,722	Van Vossen, McCoist
14 November 1996	Celtic	A	1–0	50,009	Laudrup
1 December 1996	Aberdeen	A	3–0	19,168	Robertson, Laudrup, Miller
7 December 1996	Hibernian	H	4–3	48,053	McCoist (2), Ian Ferguson, Laudrup
10 December 1996	Dundee United	A	0–1	12,417
14 December 1996	Dunfermline Athletic	H	3–1	45,878	McCoist, Gough, Andersen
17 December 1996	Kilmarnock	H	4–2	39,469	Andersen (3), Robertson
21 December 1996	Heart of Midlothian	A	4–1	15,139	Robertson, Laudrup, Albertz (pen.), Gascoigne
28 December 1996	Raith Rovers	H	4–0	48,322	Gough, Gascoigne, Albertz, McCoist
2 January 1997	Celtic	H	3–1	50,019	Andersen (2), Albertz
4 January 1997	Hibernian	A	2–1	12,650	Andersen, Albertz (pen.)
12 January 1997	Aberdeen	H	4–0	47,509	Andersen (2), Albertz (pen.), Laudrup
15 January 1997	Kilmarnock	A	1–1	15,662	Gascoigne
18 January 1997	Motherwell	A	3–1	13,166	Albertz, Laudrup, Gascoigne
1 February 1997	Heart of Midlothian	H	0–0	50,024
8 February 1997	Dunfermline Athletic	A	3–0	16,153	Durie, Albertz, Laudrup
23 February 1997	Hibernian	H	3–1	47,618	Gough, Albertz, Laudrup
1 March 1997	Aberdeen	A	2–2	16,331	Laudrup, Moore
12 March 1997	Dundee United	H	0–2	50,002
16 March 1997	Celtic	A	1–0	49,733	Laudrup
22 March 1997	Kilmarnock	H	1–2	50,036	Durie
5 April 1997	Dunfermline Athletic	H	4–0	50,098	Albertz, Petric, Laudrup, Hateley
15 April 1997	Raith Rovers	A	6–0	9,745	Durie (2), Petric, Robertson, Laudrup, McCoist
5 May 1997	Motherwell	H	0–2	50,059
7 May 1997	Dundee United	A	1–0	12,180	Laudrup
10 May 1997	Heart of Midlothian	A	1–3	13,097	McInnes

Scottish League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
14 August 1996	R2	Clydebank	A	3–0	7,450	Van Vossen (2), McCoist
4 September 1996	R3	Ayr United	H	3–1	44,732	Albertz, Gascoigne, McInnes
17 September 1996	QF	Hibernian	H	4–0	45,104	Van Vossen (2), Durie, Albertz
22 October 1996	SF	Dunfermline Athletic	N	6–1	16,791	Laudrup (2), Andersen (2), McInnes, Albertz
24 November 1996	F	Heart of Midlothian	N	4–3	48,559	McCoist (2), Gascoigne (2)

Scottish Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
25 January 1997	R3	St Johnstone	H	2–0	45,037	Andersen, Rozental
15 February 1997	R4	East Fife	H	3–0	41,064	Robertson, Steven, McCoist
6 March 1997	QF	Celtic	A	0–2	49,284

UEFA Champions League

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
7 August 1996	QR	Alania Vladikavkaz	H	3–1	44,799	McInnes, McCoist, Petric
21 August 1996	QR	Alania Vladikavkaz	A	7–2	32,000	McCoist (3), Laudrup (2), Van Vossen, Miller
11 September 1996	GS	Grasshopper	A	0–3	20,030
25 September 1996	GS	Auxerre	H	1–2	37,344	Gascoigne
16 October 1996	GS	Ajax	A	1–4	47,000	Durrant
30 October 1996	GS	Ajax	H	0–1	42,265
20 November 1996	GS	Grasshopper	H	2–1	34,192	McCoist (2, 1 (pen.))
4 December 1996	GS	Auxerre	A	1–2	21,300	Gough

Appearances

Player	Position	Appearances	Goals
Andy Dibble	GK	7	0
Andy Goram	GK	38	0
Theo Snelders	GK	7	0
Joachim Björklund	DF	40	0
Alec Cleland	DF	45	0
Richard Gough	DF	41	6
Alan McLaren	DF	20	0
Craig Moore	DF	31	1
Gordan Petric	DF	40	3
David Robertson	DF	30	5
Greg Shields	DF	10	0
Scott Wilson	DF	4	0
Stephen Wright	DF	2	0
Jorg Albertz	MF	47	13
Steven Boyack	MF	1	0
Ian Durrant	MF	16	1
Barry Ferguson	MF	1	0
Ian Ferguson	MF	31	1
Paul Gascoigne	MF	34	17
Brian Laudrup	MF	43	20
Stuart McCall	MF	13	0
Brian McGinty	MF	1	0
Derek McInnes	MF	33	4
Charlie Miller	MF	21	2
Trevor Steven	MF	10	2
Erik Bo Andersen	FW	25	12
Gordon Durie	FW	24	6
Darren Fitzgerald	FW	1	0
Mark Hateley	FW	4	1
Ally McCoist	FW	37	20
Paul McKnight	FW	1	0
Sebastián Rozental	FW	2	1
Peter van Vossen	FW	26	9

Competitions

Overall

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Scottish Premier Division	10 August	10 May		Winners	36	25	5	6	85	33	+52	069.44
UEFA Champions League	7 August	4 December	Qualifying round	Group stage	8	3	0	5	15	16	−1	037.50
Scottish Cup	25 January	6 March	Third round	Quarter-finals	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	066.67
League Cup	14 August	24 November	Second round	Winners	5	5	0	0	20	5	+15	100.00
Total					52	35	5	12	125	56	+69	067.31

Source: Competitions

Scottish Premier Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Rangers (C)	36	25	5	6	85	33	+52	80	Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2	Celtic	36	23	6	7	78	32	+46	75	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round^[a]
3	Dundee United	36	17	9	10	46	33	+13	60	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round^[a]
4	Heart of Midlothian	36	14	10	12	46	43	+3	52
5	Dunfermline Athletic	36	12	9	15	52	65	−13	45

Source: Soccerbase
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:

^ As the League Cup winners Rangers had qualified for European competition via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed to the next highest placed team in the league, Dundee United.

UEFA Champions League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	AUX	AJX	GRA	RAN
1	Auxerre	6	4	2	8	7	+1	12	Advance to knockout stage	—	0–1	1–0	2–1
2	Ajax	6	4	2	8	4	+4	12	Advance to knockout stage	1–2	—	0–1	4–1
3	Grasshopper	6	3	3	8	5	+3	9		3–1	0–1	—	3–0
4	Rangers	6	1	5	5	13	−8	3		1–2	0–1	2–1	—

Source: UEFA

References

^ "Batistuta can go to Rangers - for £10m: Look who's back . . . and look who's the next Ibrox target". The Herald. 15 March 1997.
^ "Albertz "excited" at move to Ibrox". The Herald. 29 June 1996.
^ "Bjorklund arrives as van Vossen may leave". The Herald. 6 July 1996.
^ "Opportunity Knox as Rozental pulls on a Rangers jersey". The Herald. 14 December 1996.
^ "Rangers fail to land Andersen but Dibble answers the call". The Herald. 11 March 1997.
^ "Batistuta can go to Rangers - for £10m: Look who's back . . . and look who's the next Ibrox target". The Herald. 15 March 1997.
^ "Van Hooydonk out of Raith match as Celtic look to make changes Dutchman faces axe from action due to idle talk". The Herald. 6 February 1997.

[table_note_res_UC0.036421650571945-8] As the League Cup winners Rangers had qualified for European competition via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed to the next highest placed team in the league, Dundee United.

[1] "Batistuta can go to Rangers - for £10m: Look who's back . . . and look who's the next Ibrox target". The Herald. 15 March 1997.

[2] "Albertz "excited" at move to Ibrox". The Herald. 29 June 1996.

[3] "Bjorklund arrives as van Vossen may leave". The Herald. 6 July 1996.

[4] "Opportunity Knox as Rozental pulls on a Rangers jersey". The Herald. 14 December 1996.

[5] "Rangers fail to land Andersen but Dibble answers the call". The Herald. 11 March 1997.

[6] "Batistuta can go to Rangers - for £10m: Look who's back . . . and look who's the next Ibrox target". The Herald. 15 March 1997.

[7] "Van Hooydonk out of Raith match as Celtic look to make changes Dutchman faces axe from action due to idle talk". The Herald. 6 February 1997.

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